How Does It Go
by jm875
Summary: One-shot. My ideas on how 11x17 should have ended between Alex, Meredith, and Jo.


**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for all the kind reviews on my first fic! You all motivated me to write another :) This one-shot is just my idea of how I wished 11x17 had ended...Again, I would love any suggestions for improvement or prompts in the reviews!

**Disclaimer: **As long as Alex and Jo aren't mentioned in press releases, you can be assured I have no rights..

* * *

Alex made his way through the hallways of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, several thoughts running through his mind and making his head spin. He was so _tired _of dealing with her behavior. He just wasn't cut out for this—this _person _stuff. _I blame Cristina. _

He quickly made his way towards the door at the end of the hall.

"Damnit, Mer!" Alex blew out with frustration at his friend upon entering the Attending's lounge. The lounge was dark, only a table lamp setting a soft glow across the room's only two occupants. Meredith Grey was sitting on the couch opposite the door, bent over and texting furiously on her phone.

"You could have at least helped me break the news," Alex continued. He drew his hand across the back of his neck in stress, before grabbing the top of his scrub cap and chucking it onto the table in the middle of the room. At hearing his words, Meredith's head snapped up to look at him.

"Don't start with me now, Alex. I have enough on my plate today without your yelling at me. So if you're here to get angry, just turn around a leave," Meredith spit out sternly. Her phone buzzed and her attention went straight back to the screen.

"Who are you texting?" Alex asked, calmly. _Derek cheated on her. Be nice. Keep it in._

"Cristina. She's actually helping me figure out what to do about Derek…you know, she's being my person," Meredith said sarcastically. Alex stood watching her, mouth open. _Screw nice. _

"You know what, Mer? No…I'm not going to leave. Not until you wake up a little bit and realize that being your new person or whatever should be a two-way street. You don't get to treat me like crap all the time."

"Alex…I'm serious. Not now," Meredith continued to ignore him. Alex's patience was running thin. Whether it was losing Danny in surgery, Meredith's attitude throughout the day, or the fact that he had been on-call the night before and missed Jo, something in him was about to snap. He marched up to Meredith and grabbed her phone, slamming it onto the table next to his scrub cap.

"You screwed up today, Mer," he started.

"Alex—"

"No. Stop. I've been listening to you yak about Derek for months now. Because I'm a good friend. It's your turn to return the favor and listen to _me_. Danny never should have done that surgery. He was never strong enough. But _you_ got him excited about it. _You_ forced me into agreeing." Alex paced back and forth in front of the couch. Meredith sat watching him, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Look, Mer, I'm _sorry_ you're having trouble at home. I'm _sorry_ McDreamy kissed someone else. But leave it at home. Don't bring it here. Because when you do…when you decide you have something to prove_,_ you don't think clearly…and you treat the people who've been supporting you since day one like crap."

Meredith's face softened. "Alex…look…" Alex stopped pacing and stood in front of Meredith, a glare on his face.

"I'm not done." Meredith stopped talking abruptly and looked at him, her eyes flashing with guilt. "If you want a person, a friend, whatever, fine. You've got one. I'll listen. I can take it. But if you want a punching bag, find someone else." Alex swiveled around and left the lounge, letting the door slam behind him.

Meredith sat on the couch, left alone in the lounge. She soon uncrossed her arms, stood, and grabbed her phone on the table, following him out the door.

* * *

Jo smiled to herself, ignoring Stephanie as she stood from her place on the bench and stormed out of the resident's locker room. Jo sat examining her new friend as he stuck to the side of the jar. _Her first pet! _Realizing someone needed to share this moment with her, Jo jumped up from the bench and left to find Alex.

Jo walked excitedly through the hospital hallways, thinking over what she had accomplished during the day. Since working with Dr. Torres in Ortho, Jo had developed a love for cracking femurs and breaking tibias just to fix them up again. But working in Trauma today excited her like never before. If spending a day pulling a leech out of a woman's nose gave her this kind of a high, what would it be like working in the Emergency Room every day with traumas and accidents and natural disasters? The thought made Jo smile even bigger.

She entered the Pediatric wing, looking around for her boyfriend. After realizing he wasn't there, she headed over to the Attending's lounge, popping her head in the door. Nothing. She started walking towards the ER and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

She scrolled through the text messages she had missed throughout the day, quickly clicking on the latest one from Alex. _Heading into Danny's surgery with Mer. Might be awhile. _Jo silently begged the surgery went well. She knew how much Alex had come to like Danny after months of caring for him. And, with his sister caring for him in place of their parents, Jo knew the situation likely reminded Alex of his and his siblings' own upbringing as well.

Jo turned the corner into the ER, still holding Herbie tightly in her right hand. Meredith Grey stood at one of the counters, fingers moving fast as she updated an electronic chart. Jo bounced up to her.

"Dr. Grey! Have you seen Alex? I can't find him anywhere…"

Meredith's eyes stayed firmly on the tablet. "Not now, Wilson."

Jo hesitated, but risked asking the obviously annoyed doctor one more question. "Did Danny's surgery go well?"

Meredith looked up at her, glaring. She grabbed the tablet off the counter and turned to move, leaving Jo standing alone in shock and embarrassment. As Jo reached for her pocket again to grab her phone, Meredith stopped and turned around.

"Wilson." Jo looked up, making eye contact. "I think I saw him go into an on-call room on the fourth floor," Meredith said, not waiting for a response from Jo before stalking off again.

* * *

Upon finding the on-call room only minutes later, Jo opened the door just a crack and slid in sideways, trying not to let light from the hallways seep into the dark room. Alex was spread out on the furthest bed from the door, laying on his side and facing the wall. Jo watched his back as she approached him, looking for any deep breathing that might signal whether or not he was asleep.

She placed Herbie on the small adjacent table and gently lowered herself onto the bed next to him, fitting her front against his back. She slung her arm around his midsection, using her other hand to hold her head up, watching his face. _They always fit so well together. _

She ducked her head, placing a few sweet kisses along the back of his neck, and used her hand to gently scratch the top of his head.

"Alex," she whispered. "I know you're not asleep, babe." She watched him closely as his eyes slowly opened. He barely moved, face continuing to stare at the wall in front of him.

"I saw Dr. Grey…I'm—I'm so sorry…I know how much you liked that kid." Jo waited patiently, silently hoping Alex would speak soon. A minute or two passed, and she started to feel more and more helpless. The high from her exciting day in trauma came crashing down, realizing that her boyfriend was far more affected by this loss than she thought.

"You did everything you could-" Jo began before Alex cut her off.

"No…I didn't. It was my fault."

"What are you talking about Alex? You tried everything to help that kid…"

Alex sighed. "I didn't today. I let Mer talk me into a surgery I _knew _he couldn't handle. And he couldn't. He died. It was too much stress on his body...I…I never should have let her talk me into it…"

Jo continued to move her fingers through his hair calmly, letting Alex get everything off his chest. These moments were rare. Alex wasn't one to share emotions easily, so when he did, Jo tried to let him do most of the talking. She moved her other hand from rubbing smoothing circles on his stomach to entwine with his hand. She squeezed it tightly.

Alex turned onto his back and looked up at his girlfriend before continuing. "I'm sorry."

Jo looked down at him with surprise. "Alex, stop. It wasn't your fault. You explained the risks, if his sister signed permiss-"

"No…not that. I mean…I'm sorry for these past few months, letting Meredith control me so much…"

"Alex-" Jo started.

"Really," he started again. "She just…she needed someone to talk to…but Derek's back now, I think." He paused, looking down at their hands. "I shouldn't have let her treat me like crap. I shouldn't have let her treat _you_ like crap," he said, matching their eyes again. "So, I'm saying sorry."

Jo smiled softly. She leaned down, gently pressing her lips against his, sighing. Her hand broke free from his, moving up his body slowly before cupping his cheek. Her thumb brushed his cheek near his lips, savoring the taste of his mouth against hers.

Jo broke the kiss, her face hovering only inches above his. "Don't worry about it," she whispered before leaning down to peck him again. "Let's head home?"

"Yeah," Alex whispered back, but failed to move. Jo finally settled down next to him, her face fitting into the crook of his neck. Her hand rested gently against his chest, feeling how his breathing began to slow again. As he finally moved to get up, Alex suddenly stopped, confusion lacing his voice.

"Jo?"

"Hmm?"

"What the hell is that?"

Jo followed his eyes, turning around to look at what had Alex's face contorted into such a perplexed look. Her eyes fell on the jar sitting on table next to them and she smiled. Oh. _Herbie. _


End file.
